Tyrell by Coe Booth & Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Two that I just read may be too dark for 7th grade but great anyway and worth a mention--Tyrell by Coe Booth is about a 17 yr old whose family is homeless because his dad is in prison and his mom won't work. Now with his little brother, Tyrell lives in a roach infested halfway house waiting for a better place to live. But he has lots working against him and the book really explores how he copes--drops out of school, really loyal to a girl and taking care of his brother. Tyrell wants to provide but is also overwhelmed by how to do it and so we see Tyrell spiral and try to do right for himself. Another one I read right after that was Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin---Matthew the older brother tries to shield his two sisters from their crazy, abusive mother. Nikki professes to love her children but harms them, scares them and Matthew tries to get help from a man named Murdoch who he befriends after seeing him come to the rescue in a hold-up. Matthew's love for his sisters makes him do almost anything to keep them safe. Nikki's sanity slips as she is plunged into psychosis but she really thinks she is a great mom. These two books are great survival tales and the teens are heroes despite tremendous odds.

What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

I just love all of Sonya Sones' books and this one is awesome. Robin and Sophie finally hook up but Robin has no idea why Sophie likes him! In free verse, popular Sophie choses weirdo Robin "You're a real Murphy" as the love of her life. Only problem is, not one of Sophie's friends and all the other students at Cambridge High seem to understand what Sophie sees in the Murphster. But Robin is young, sweet, amorous and totally ga-ga about Sophie, her eyes and her heart. Robin is also an artist with real talent and I loved the classes he audits at Harvard and the great art students he becomes friendly with. You will laugh, you will cry--this is the guy take on first love and it is amazing.

Review of Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Guyaholic by Carolyn Mackler

I just finished reading 2 very different but awesome books. Since I joined the Book Challenge- they are #1 and #2 on my list. Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a novel in verse about junior, Kristina who goes to visit her dad. She starts introducinbg herself as Bree who is the opposite of Kristina and this guy gets her hooked on crank. Wow, it was so sad to see her slide into hopelessness. Even though it is over 500 pages, it flies off the booktalk shelves because our reading teacher does such a compelling booktalk. Then the kids come back and want to read her others Impulse, Burned and Glass. The 2nd book, Guyaholic by Caroyln Mackler will be one of my favorites to booktalk. V the main character was in another one of Mackler's books (you must read Vegan, Virgin, Valentine and Other Four Letter Words where V is a minor but compelling character)and in Guyaholic after endless hookups for 3 weeks tops--V gets hit inthe head with a hockey puck and Sam Almond rescues her. He is hunky in a geeky way, kind, compassionate, loves to cook and wants to be V's boyfriend, hold hands and go to the prom--all of which are NoNos, if you know V's history - moving 20 times in 16 years and a mother who dates endlessly. If you want a funny, poignant read, try this, I guarantee you will like it!

Stephenie Meyer books

I am the kind of person who reads and loves almost everything I read, but I was never a reader of horror fiction- vampires in particular. But students kept asking for the books after Twilight in the spring and since Twilight was on the Reading Olympic list for '08 I decided to take it home for the summer, read it and make up questions. Well, I am hooked! I read Twilight in July and I couldn't put it down, Meyer has a unique way of writing seductively and from the teen perspective. There is so much angst with Bella and Edward Cullen, you just have to keep reading to learn more about their very different, yet alluring love. My students never minded that the books were 400-500 pages long- they were clamoring for the next one and the next one! I am now halfway through New Moon and once again, the suspense, fear and unrequited love keep me reading! Now I am learning more about Bella and Jacob's friendship/realtionship and boy is this different. When I went to Borders last week to purchase New Moon, my neice told me I just had to buy the 3rd one because it was 30% off and I would be saving money so I purchased Eclipse as well. I don't really booktalk these books (because reluctant readers would see the size and not touch them), the students who are readers come and ask for them in groups so I am more than happy to get these vampire books for our library because they are very read-worthy! So if you have become an ardent fan of Stephenie Meyer, pick up Twilight and I guarantee you will be seduced!

Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat

What a wonderful, poignant story about a Haitian family whose father, Papa, now lives in New York, toiling for years to bring his family to live with him. Told in first person by Celiane in entries to her notebook, we meet her family who has remained in Haiti, Celiane's mother, Manman, her older, artistic brother, Moy and the many relatives who provide support as they wait for approval to make the move. There is government turmoil and Celiane and her mother are injured in a pipe bomb attack in Haiti. It is a wonderful Christmas present to move to New York to finally be with their father. Once there, Moy and Celiane go to school, which is difficult because of the language barrier, strange surroundings and no friends. We see through Celiane's eyes the joy, sorrow and harshness of being in a new land. We see the beauty of Celiane's house on a mountain and New York through a child's eyes. This is a great multicultural story of how families remain close during separation and make a new life in a new land.

Back to School

My library partner and I host 10th grade orientations to the library each fall. We use a trifold handout and we go over the expectations, databases, hours, policies with a tour of the library and a discussion of opportunities in the library such as library aides, Reading Olympics or Graphic Novel Club. This year I think we should use the new, available technology and do an eye-catching slideshow to add a new dimension. I hate to waste the paper and some brochures get thrown out or left behind. What do you do when you return for the new year with your students?

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